May 10th, 2005 @ Avalon. Boston MA.
Although not as commercially well known as Moby, Weezer, Coldplay or Ben
Folds, The Mars Volta shook Lansdowne Street Tuesday night, showing why
they belong among the list of Avalonís other spring headliners. A powerful
display of raw energy transformed the crisp night air into a sweaty
spectacle inside the Avalon. The ambient lighting effects, cluttered
stage and retro-looking equipment brought to mind an acid-induced Pink
Floyd show from the days of Sid Barrett and Roger Waters. With no
introduction, no chit chat, no covers and no encore, the crowd filed out
exhausted but fulfilled. These guys were born to rock.

In 2000, the mainstream band At the Drive-In split into Sparta and The
Mars Volta. Although neither band has achieved the commercial success of
ATDI, both carry cult followings. The Mars Volta quickly created an
experimental blend of early punk rock with psychedelic jazz riffs. It is
difficult to appreciate the level of talent from their albums alone, but
audiences are entranced when this experimental music is played live.

Besides a pair of good-looking afros, the front man and his gifted lead
guitarist and have great musical potential. Singer Cedric Bixler Zavala
oozed with energy, slithering and twirling his microphone across the
stage, sometimes using his voice to accentuate the percussion with
surprising effect. Zavalaís melodic voice shined during the slow jazz
progressions, and then sliced through the audience minutes later with
his screams in a style reminiscent of Axl Rose. The stylish, Omar
Rodriguez Lopez squeezed raw acoustical feedback out of his guitar,
resembling a slimmer Lenny Kravitz but one who has not sold out. The
bassist, Juan Alderete, anchored the band but seemed overshadowed by
Lopez. But the show was not perfect. Several songs use very similar base lines and drum progressions. At
times the drummer, Jon Theodore, seemed to play uselessly,
drowning out other band members and hammering the crash symbol on every
downbeat. The young band showed dynamic musical range, however, with
sax, percussion, flute, and keyboard (provided Ikey Owens), but their
songs seem to converge by the end the show.

Hopefully the bandís experiences on this tour will broaden their range
for the next album. In the Downloadable Music Age, this band still
manages to sell out each show on word of mouth, rumbling the underground
music scene to play at larger venues. In this era of digitized,
radio-friendly hits, itís nice to see a band that thrives in live
performances.